A Review of Natalia Dushakova, Prozhivaemaya istoriya: kak staroobryadtsy vspominayut o svoem proshlom [Lived History: How Old Believers Remember Their Past]. Moscow: Russian State University for the Humanities Press, 2022, 180 pp.

Abstract

In her book, Natalia Dushakova focuses on the historical memory of Old Believers in Romania and Moldova. This research is based on field materials which the author collected over several years in the region, supplemented by published memories of the local Old Believers. The basic methodological concept in this work is formulated as “lived history”, which makes it possible to focus on the Old Believers’ changing understandings of the past, as well as specifically on how they interpret history. Dushakova notices that—for Old Believers—events of Biblical history are intertwined with the events of the “secular” world. In particular, she observes how Old Believers remember the appearance of the schism, religious repressions, voluntary migration, and deportation. Furthermore, the author discusses Old Believer explanations of restrictions, various strategies of interaction with strangers, and how divisions inside the Old Belief form alternative interpretations of the past.